GOOD HOPE, Ala. — Jillian Zapka will be representing Good Hope High School in the upcoming Fair Queen pageant this fall and she’s already looking forward to getting back on stage. This was her first pageant since second grade, and she had so much fun being around her friends while preparing.
“It was so much fun being with all the girls. It was amazing. We truly were there for each other throughout the entire pageant. We all got to watch each other the day before and give each other advice. It was a great environment,” Zapka said. “I’ve worked with my baton coach, Bess Wills, on my talent, and Julie Graham has been helping me for about five weeks with interviews, my pageant walk, and my fitness walk.”
Jillian was given some great advice before everything got underway, and she talked about her service initiative and how much it means to her.
“Some advice that people gave me was to just be myself, and as long as I show the judges the best of my abilities, it was considered successful, no matter what the outcome was,” Zapka said. “My service initiative is T.W.I.R.L. for a Cure, which focuses on spreading breast cancer awareness. It means so much to me, because people need to know how important early detection of any cancer really is. If you can catch it early, that can be the difference between overcoming the disease or having it spread throughout your body.”
Her performance during the pageant touched a lot of people’s hearts, and she talked about her reaction and everyone else’s reaction to her winning. A lot of younger girls were watching her performance at the pageant, and being a role model for them is important to her.
“I think it touched a lot of people’s hearts, since cancer is so prominent in society today,” she said. “I was honored that I was chosen out of such a great group of girls. I’m still in shock. They were all so happy for me and supportive. It is important for them to find a role model who is a positive and Godly person that they can follow.”
Jillian gave some advice to those girls that want to compete in pageants themselves, saying that God played a huge role in her performance. She shared her favorite Bible verse as well.
“Go for it, and as long as you know you did your best, it doesn’t matter what the outcome ends up becoming,” she said. “He played a big role in my performance. Before we started the pageant, we all prayed over each other, and we did the same thing before we went out for awards. My favorite verse is Proverbs 16:9, and that verse means so much to me, because without the Lord establishing each of my steps, I wouldn’t have made it to where I am today.”
Jillian reflected on her most memorable moment from the pageant and what she learned something about herself during the competition.
“My most memorable moment was right before awards when we were all praying for each other and just supporting each other,” she said. “The biggest thing I learned was to be more confident with what I do. I want people to remember my service initiative and how important it is for us to come together to make people more aware of the importance of early detection.”
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